Equitable Clean Energy for Communities

Despite expanded access, the benefits of clean energy haven’t been equally distributed across the United States due to longstanding systemic racial and economic inequities. Low-income and communities of color have been historically excluded from energy decision-making and planning processes. As a result, clean energy access and energy burdens vary greatly based upon household income, homeownership status and racial demographics. Black-and-Hispanic-majority census tracts, for example, have significantly less rooftop solar installed and spend more of their income on energy bills. Low-income and communities of color additionally face barriers like the high upfront cost of technology, lower rates of homeownership, condition of housing stock, lack of rooftop access for renters, inability to access financing, complicated or hard-to-access clean energy incentives and more.

Overcoming barriers to equitable energy access requires deep and ongoing community engagement, collaboration and new partnership models. It also will require new incentives, ownership structures, and business and financing models.

Community Solar

The WRI U.S. Energy Program — as part of the City Renewables Accelerator — has supported cities in peer learning and participation in community solar programs. WRI support in this arena has included procurement guidance, peer learning cohorts and tracking community solar purchases by cities nationally (collectively, cities purchased about 550 MW of solar in 2022).

The WRI Energy Program has also engaged with local housing nonprofits and utilities to advance pilot programs and program design ideas that increase access to community solar for low-income households. This work has included helping create a pilot community solar “gifting” program with the local Habitat for Humanity organization in Lincoln, Nebraska. It also involved working with the Kentucky state affiliate of Habitat for Humanity and the utilities LG&E and KU around the expansion of their community solar “gifting” program.

The WRI team has also engaged with local housing nonprofits and utilities to advance pilot programs and program design ideas that increase access to community solar for low-income households. This work has included helping create a pilot community solar “gifting” program with the local Habitat for Humanity organization in Lincoln, Nebraska. It also involved working with the Kentucky state affiliate of Habitat for Humanity and the utilities LG&E and KU around the expansion of their community solar “gifting” program.

Resources:

• Webinar: Advancing Energy Equity through Community Solar
• Article: How Community Solar Can Benefit Low- and Moderate-Income Customers
• Article: Innovative Partnerships Bring Community Solar to Low-income Households in the US
• Article: How Local Governments Can Advance Community Solar for Low- and Moderate-Income Households

Clean Energy in Cities

Cities play an important role in not only harnessing more clean power for their residents, but also ensuring that the benefits of doing so are distributed equitably. WRI’s U.S. Energy Program provides education and support to cities and counties, alongside local partners like school districts, community-based organizations, universities, housing authorities and more. This has included a paper on Integrating Equity into City Clean Energy Initiatives, which explores key equity considerations for a variety of clean energy initiatives, and a guidebook for local governments as they work to maximize Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives for an equitable clean energy transition. WRI has also run trainings on topics like equity-centered, scenario-based planning for community-level energy policy; peer-learning cohorts on financing strategies for a more equitable energy future; and inclusive Solarize campaigns, which are community-level group purchasing campaigns that aim to lower acquisition costs for solar PV.

Finally, WRI supports local governments seeking to raise equity considerations in state and regional forums. The PJM Cities and Communities Coalition, with the assistance of WRI, published a policy statement calling for the wholesale market to fairly value battery storage contributions to the grid, especially given the co-benefits associated with advancing environmental justice goals. Additionally, WRI facilitated collaboration between several local governments in North Carolina that led to a filing in an Integrated Resource Planning process that explicitly emphasized equity and low-income-focused programming.

Resources:

• Report: Integrating Equity into City Clean Energy Initiatives
• Project: Equitable Clean Energy Planning
• Webinar: Delivering EV Charging Infrastructure to Rural and Underserved Communities through Justice40
• Article: A New Program Will Bring Clean Energy to Disadvantaged Neighborhoods in the US
• Article: 2 Years of Justice40: Integrating Environmental Justice into US Climate Policy
• Article: 7 Ways US Cities Can Make Clean Energy Initiatives More Equitable
• Article: How Prepared Are US Cities to Implement the Justice40 Initiative?
• Article: New local campaigns can bring cheaper and cleaner rooftop solar to communities of color
• Article: 3 Hurdles to Racial Justice in Clean Energy – and 3 Ways US Cities Can Overcome Them

Transportation Electrification

Recent years have seen an explosion in interest and investment in electric vehicles. While this is a welcome development on the path to 100% clean energy, critical efforts must be made to ensure that the benefits of clean transport are seen by all and not the most privileged few. WRI centers equity in its transportation electrification work, most notably in the Electric School Bus Initiative. The ESBI aims to build unstoppable momentum toward electrification of the entire U.S. school bus fleet by 2030, bringing health, climate and economic benefits to children and families, especially those who have the least or have been the last to benefit from development and transport innovations in the United States.

WRI has also run city peer learning cohorts on equitable and grid-friendly EV charging infrastructure deployment.

Finally, the U.S. Energy Program has work related to equity in electric vehicle rate design and vehicle-to-grid technology, with a priority of enhancing resilience in disadvantaged communities.

Resources:

• Article: Many US Communities Face EV ‘Charging Deserts.’ 5 Strategies Can Help
• Article: Electric School Buses Can Fight – or Further— Inequity in the US
• Article: 3 Design Considerations for Electric School Bus Vehicle-to-Grid Programs
• Webpage: How the ESB Initiative Centers Equity
• Report: The Equity Framework to Guide the Electric School Bus Initiative
• Webpage: Prioritizing Equity in Providing Technical Assistance to Underserved School Districts under WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative

Community Benefits Agreements

For far too long, U.S. communities have had little to no say in where large-scale projects are sited and built, nor have they shared equally in the benefits and impacts of new development. As projects like solar, wind and hydrogen hubs gain traction, there is an opportunity to shift those dynamics.

Community benefits agreements (CBA) and other similar tools can ensure that communities have a say in project development and experience tangible benefits. These benefits are prioritized by community members and could include anything from local jobs to the creation of affordable housing, scholarships for students, investments in community centers and much more. While this concept is gaining momentum, many questions remain about how to engage, who to engage, and what types of benefits communities can receive.

WRI is collaborating with community groups, local governments, and other institutions to answer some of these questions. New WRI research and resources will help community members, developers, governments and others engage in the CBA process meaningfully. Through this work, WRI seeks to empower local communities and build their capacity to co-create solutions that address their unique needs and aspirations.

Resources:

• Article: US Clean Energy Projects Need Public Buy-in. Community Benefits Agreements Can Help
• Event: Creating an Equitable Clean Energy Future: Engaging Local Communities in Project Planning and Development